Here are student summaries of fall 2024 MCJD dialogical surveys with Willamette Valley farmers and ranchers. Click on any title for details, then return to see all titles.
Talking with Someone I Otherwise Wouldn’t Have
Event: Willamette Valley AgricultureInterviewer: Asher
Whom did you interview?
The person that I interacted with during the EcoTypes survey was Roy. Roy works in agricultural management and runs a hazelnut farm. Roy also has a hobby of fixing up old tractors, and displays them in a museum on his hazelnut farm. Roy works with the Oregon Farm Bureau and the Young Farmers and Ranchers program that is attached to it to help educate the public about the needs of farmers and ranchers in Oregon.
How did your EcoTypes and SDG priorities compare?For the most part, our EcoTypes and SDG priorities were the same. We had interesting discussion surrounding why we agreed, but generally our ideas were similar. The most interesting detail that came up during the interview was our differing perspectives on use of technology in the world. Roy, working on a farm with older equipment, very much values not having to adopt new technology. He believes that technology is better when it can be fixed with a wrench and a hammer, and you don’t need to call a company to get some computer technician to come out. Because of his experience with farm equipment, he’s a traditionalist when it comes to technology. I differ significantly in this because even though, like Roy, I support the right to repair and believe that technology has issues when it comes to the repairability (which would be very important to someone like Roy), my perspective as someone raised in Silicon Valley is one that’s very much pro-technology. It was interesting to get this alternate perspective on technology. Roy ended up with the Land Stewardship EcoType with a split Knowledge (old science/tech, new spirituality/time), and I ended with with the Social Justice EcoType with new Knowledge. Our SDG priorities were exceedingly similar, with both of us choosing Zero Hunger, Clean Water and Sanitation, and Decent Work and Economic Growth. Our only difference was our fourth SDG priority, where Roy chose Life on Land and I chose Quality Education. This makes a lot of sense, as Roy being a farmer would mean that he has a personal connection to Life on Land that I don’t have, as I don’t have that perspective.
What larger MCJD lessons did you learn?The larger MCJD lesson that I draw from this interaction is that I need to carefully consider how different potential acts that I support affect everyone. For example, I generally support regulation when it comes to taxing greenhouse gases, as this means that large companies will have to pay more and have an incentive to emit less. However, it’s important to remember that these regulations also affect small farmers, who sometimes can’t afford to pay the tax. We talked to Marc earlier in the day, and he talked about how a proposed tax on cow greenhouse emissions would put his farm out of business. They simply don’t make enough money to be able to pay it. Therefore, I need to remember that even though I can care differently, I need to think about how what I want affects other people who also care.